Propane Mystery?

[OldWEB]

And remember to always look at it as "Half Full", not "half empty"... life will be easier then!

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by OldWEB

And remember to always look at it as "Half Full", not "half empty"... life will be easier then!

Thank you. I just love this stuff and my new RV. I got a lot to learn, but the pieces I do know, I try to know it well.

I just happened to notice that the propane auge you had picture of and the one my RV is manufactured by Rochester Gauge here in Dallas, Texas. I looked them up and they are just 9 miles from my house!!!! The Propane Gods Are surely smiling on me this Sunday morning

[JimOIB]

Originally Posted by OldWEB

If you look at your gauge, it will go past the "F" mark, "F" is only 80% of the tank capacity at a certain temperature. So "Full" is 80% of 18 gal or 14.4 gal.
But half full will still be half of the total tank capacity or 9 gal.
So when you 'filled' a half tank with 4.3 gal..... 9 + 4.3 = 13.3 I think that is pretty close to the full mark of 14.4 gal

And as was mentioned, the indicator lights are really crude....

Brilliant. It never dawned on me that the float would be calibrated to total tank volume. If I go back and look at my logs the math works out +/- 1 gallon.

[Popfla]

A quick Google search shows this -

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Popfla

A quick Google search shows this -

Thanks for help. The stated Winnebago capacity was never in question (by me anyway). The challenge was given the stated capacity ( which coincidentally I could not prove because thick paint on the stampings ) why did I only add 4.3 gallons to fill given it was already half full? See OldWeb posts for answers.

What did I learn?

1. A tank is full once it bleeds out
2. A tank's Full indicator is based on 80% mark of the tanks overall capacity, which for me is 14.4 gallons, but the tank's 1/2 Full and 3/4 Full indicators are based on overall tank capacity which for me is 18 gallon (which means indicators are reading 9 gallons & 13.5 gallons respectively.

Right now, I am actually within .2 gallons which is 25 ounces , I can live with that from my gauge

[Bob Denman]

Glad that ir has all been sorted and figured out!

[Pete'sMH]

You all are very “techy”! I get my tank filled when both gauges are showing it’s getting low. Never much worried about the details. I usually heat with electricity so a tank usually lasts me a year or more.

[MJC62]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

You all are very “techy”! I get my tank filled when both gauges are showing it’s getting low. Never much worried about the details. I usually heat with electricity so a tank usually lasts me a year or more.

DITTO what he said. When the tank gauge says under a half we fill it.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by MJC62

DITTO what he said. When the tank gauge says under a half we fill it.

But what if while you were doing that (filing it when you know the tank gauge says it is under a half), so you drive 8 miles to fill it you noticed that at the propane fill station the Tech gave you a receipt for 2 gallons and $6?

Would you not question if they really filled your tank? That is basically what happened to me. Only difference was I reacting to the knowledge my tank was supposed to have capacity of 18 gallons. Only adding 4 gallons seemed suspicious, I originally assumed they did not fill the tank

Now, I know why that is strange abnormality of the math. In future; I will know that I don't need to do anything until under 1/4 tank because 1/4 of tank for me means 4.5 gallons, which is a 7 month supply based on my current rate of propane consumption.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

You all are very “techy”! I get my tank filled when both gauges are showing it’s getting low. Never much worried about the details. I usually heat with electricity so a tank usually lasts me a year or more.

Ok, I have been busted. I am an Engineer I take great pride in operational efficiency and marvel with the technology. It would be no fun to me if my RV was all cared for and I all I did was get in it and drive

[Bob Denman]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

You all are very “techy”! I get my tank filled when both gauges are showing it’s getting low. Never much worried about the details. I usually heat with electricity so a tank usually lasts me a year or more.

What he said...

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by Pete'sMH

You all are very “techy”! I get my tank filled when both gauges are showing it’s getting low. Never much worried about the details. I usually heat with electricity so a tank usually lasts me a year or more.

I use an extend-a-stay when parked and only use on-board for travel. I get 1+ years out of mine too. However, if the propane is convenient, I get them to top off the onboard too.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by The_Breeze

I use an extend-a-stay when parked and only use on-board for travel. I get 1+ years out of mine too. However, if the propane is convenient, I get them to top off the onboard too.

When parked where?

Or do you mean you use extend a stay all the time except while driving?

I know I don't want to carry any propane tanks with me. But with 14.4 gallons; I don't have that concern because I basically have the equivalent of three 20 lb tanks if full when I leave.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by Popfla

A quick Google search shows this -

Spoke with Winnebago today who put me in touch with Manchester Tank who made my tank.

'Manchester sent me all of the design and specifications. They confirmed what we had deduced above. Tank's capacity is 17.6 Gal and maximum fill is 14.08 gal.

They even showed me how to calibrate the gauge if I need

I think my gauge is dead on.

Thanks again for taking the time to assist.

[The_Breeze]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

When parked where?

Or do you mean you use extend a stay all the time except while driving?

I know I don't want to carry any propane tanks with me. But with 14.4 gallons; I don't have that concern because I basically have the equivalent of three 20 lb tanks if full when I leave.

Use extend-a-stay except when driving. I have the equiv of 70lbs: 1-30lb onboard and 2-20lb portable. Have yet to refill the other 20lb. Probably a waste of money but want to experiment with more boon docking. Transport the portables in a towed.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by The_Breeze

Use extend-a-stay except when driving. I have the equiv of 70lbs: 1-30lb onboard and 2-20lb portable. Have yet to refill the other 20lb. Probably a waste of money but want to experiment with more boon docking. Transport the portables in a towed.

Got it The whole Extend a Stay thing makes more sense to me now. Being new at this; my perspective was around the 76 lb tank I have and how hard it is for me to put a dent in it I didn't have the the context you provided that some may only have 30 lbs on board. I would definitely get the Extend a stay too in that situation. In fact, I could see one day in the future I add Extend a stay to mine even though I might not need. It is very nice option to have. My block though is I don't think I wish to travel with extra tanks, even on hitch rack at the back. I have watched too many movies with propane tanks being blown up

[MLP]

If you are having a hard time reading the stamping on anything, get some paper and a pencil. Place the paper over the stamping and using the pencil push just hard enough to coat the paper with the carbon. Not hard enough to get into the stamping dip. You can now read the stamping.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by MLP

If you are having a hard time reading the stamping on anything, get some paper and a pencil. Place the paper over the stamping and using the pencil push just hard enough to coat the paper with the carbon. Not hard enough to get into the stamping dip. You can now read the stamping.

That is exactly what Manchester Tank ask me to do. It was a PITA, had a hard time believing they couldn't just send me the specs based on what they sell to Winnebago.

They eventually got me in touch with R&D Engineering who was very helpful. I did manage to use pencil and paper to get the serial number and they were able to send me all the specs plus drawings

They also confirmed that what we concluded with above was correct. My tank when empty will take 14 gallons I am a long ways from running out of propane on any trip.

[IDguy]

Originally Posted by dkoldman

But what if while you were doing that (filing it when you know the tank gauge says it is under a half), so you drive 8 miles to fill it you noticed that at the propane fill station the Tech gave you a receipt for 2 gallons and $6?

Would you not question if they really filled your tank? That is basically what happened to me. Only difference was I reacting to the knowledge my tank was supposed to have capacity of 18 gallons. Only adding 4 gallons seemed suspicious, I originally assumed they did not fill the tank

Now, I know why that is strange abnormality of the math. In future; I will know that I don't need to do anything until under 1/4 tank because 1/4 of tank for me means 4.5 gallons, which is a 7 month supply based on my current rate of propane consumption.

Or one night using heat at 32 outside temp.

[dkoldman]

Originally Posted by IDguy

Or one night using heat at 32 outside temp.

When I knew even less about the coach last Dec 2019, we were out 5 days in row where temp hit 32 or less. We had hot water running the full time, we did not cook, but when we got home it (LED) read empty on inside. Did not know to check the outside tank back then. When we bought propane we got exactly 10 gallons; so we may have had 1 or 2 gallons actually. Note: I assume the thank was NOT completely empty despite reading inside RV.